Dr. Jayant Patel, the surgeon from the Defense Counsel of India, has claimed that during his tenure in the team of surgeons at the Bundaberg Base Hospital, he possessed the skill and the caliber of treating even the most complex cases of oesophagectomy.

He has been held guilty for the manslaughter of three patients, viz. James Phillips, Gerry Kemps and Mervyn Morris. These charges have been put on him during his tenure as a surgeon at the hospital, between 2003 and 2005.

Michael Byrne, one of his colleagues, supported his claims, and reiterated in the Supreme Court that the prosecution is underestimating Patel’s capability.

Patel has been accused of harming the body of Ian Rodney Vowles.

The prosecution has also accused him of harming another patient named James Grave. The jury wants Patel to accept that he is not competent enough to handle such extreme situations at the Bundaberg Base Hospital.

However, Byrne has been presenting alternate views, saying that the Grave operation justifies the skillfulness of Patel.

"It showed Patel had the skill set and employed those skills to deal with the complications and a complicated case”, he said.

He further said that Phillip and Graves’ surgery was handled by Patel, quite successfully.